''The Dark Tower'' is a series of eight novels, one short story, and a children's book written by American author
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
. Incorporating themes from multiple genres, including
dark fantasy
Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...
,
science fantasy
Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...
,
horror, and
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
, it describes a "gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. The series, and its use of the Dark Tower, expands upon
Stephen King's multiverse and in doing so, links together many of his other novels.
In addition to the eight novels of the series proper that comprise 4,250 pages, many of King's other books relate to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses.
The series was chiefly inspired by the
poem
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...
"
Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came
"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" is a narrative poem by English author Robert Browning, written on January 2, 1852, and first published in 1855 in the collection titled '' Men and Women''. The poem is often noted for its dark and atm ...
" by
Robert Browning
Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...
, whose full text was included in the final volume's appendix. In the preface to the revised 2003 edition of ''
The Gunslinger
''The Gunslinger'' is a dark-fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first volume in the '' Dark Tower'' series.
''The Gunslinger'' was first published in 1982 as a fix-up novel, joining five short stories that had been publ ...
'', King also identifies ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'',
Arthurian legend
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
, and ''
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...
'' as inspirations. He identifies
Clint Eastwood's "
Man with No Name
The Man with No Name ( it, Uomo senza nome) is the antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "''Dollars Trilogy''" of Italian Spaghetti Western films: ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), '' For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), ...
" character as one of the major inspirations for the protagonist,
Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character and the protagonist of Stephen King's '' The Dark Tower'' series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of ...
. King's style of location names in the series, such as Mid-World, and his
development of a unique language (High Speech), are also influenced by
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
's work.
A
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
serving as a sequel to the events of ''
The Dark Tower'' was released in August 2017.
Stephen King saw ''The Dark Tower'' series as a first draft, initially planning to rewrite it. However, after revising ''The Gunslinger'', "he is trying to decide how much he can rewrite."
The series is referred to on King's website as his
magnum opus
A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
.
Overview
Plot summary
In the story,
Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character and the protagonist of Stephen King's '' The Dark Tower'' series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of ...
is a member of a
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
ly order known as ''gunslingers'' and the last of the line of "Arthur Eld", his world's
analogue of
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
. Politically organized along the lines of a
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the
American Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
but is also
magical. Many of the magical aspects have vanished from Mid-World, but traces remain as do relics from a technologically advanced society. Roland's quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to be the nexus of all universes. Roland's world is said to have "moved on", and it appears to be coming apart at the seams. Mighty nations have been torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish without a trace and time does not flow in an orderly fashion. Sometimes, even the sun rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland's motives, goals, and age are unclear, although later installments shed light on these mysteries.
For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for
each book.
Connections to King's other works
The series has become a linchpin that is interwoven with, and ties together, much of King's
body of work
The complete works of an artist, writer, musician, group, etc., is a collection of all of their cultural works. For example, '' Complete Works of Shakespeare'' is an edition containing all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. A ''Complete ...
. The worlds of ''The Dark Tower'' are in part composed of locations, characters, events and other various elements from many of King's novels and short stories. Some of the principal books that are tied to this series, or that this series references, include ''
It'', ''
The Stand
''The Stand'' is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which the few surv ...
'', ''
'Salem's Lot'', ''
Insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
'', ''
Hearts in Atlantis'', ''
Black House'', ''
The Eyes of the Dragon
''The Eyes of the Dragon'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King, first published as a limited edition slipcased hardcover by Philtrum Press in 1984, illustrated by Kenneth R. Linkhauser. The novel would later be published for the ...
'', ''
The Shining'', and ''
Cell
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...
''. The TV miniseries ''
Kingdom Hospital
''Kingdom Hospital'' (sometimes known as ''Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital'') is a thirteen-episode television series based on Lars von Trier's '' The Kingdom'' (Danish title: ''Riget''), developed by horror writer Stephen King in 2004 for Ameri ...
'' takes place in a world in which Nozz-A-La is the most popular beverage in the world, possibly meaning those events take place in the same universe as books 4 and 5 are set.
Characters
Along his journey to the Dark Tower, Roland meets a great number of friends and enemies. For most of the way, he is accompanied by a group of people who, together with him, form the
Ka-tet of the Nineteen and Ninety-nine, consisting of
Jake Chambers
''The Dark Tower'' is a series of eight novels written by American author Stephen King, which incorporate multiple genres including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. Below are ''The Dark Tower'' characters that come into play as the ...
,
Eddie Dean,
Susannah Dean
''The Dark Tower'' is a series of eight novels written by American author Stephen King, which incorporate multiple genres including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. Below are ''The Dark Tower'' characters that come into play as the ...
, and
Oy. Among his many enemies on the way are
The Man in Black, Mordred, and
The Crimson King
The Crimson King, known to some as Los' or Ram Abbalah, is a fictional character created by Stephen King and the main antagonist of King's eight-volume The Dark Tower (series), ''Dark Tower'' series, as well as the novels ''Insomnia (novel), In ...
.
Language
King created a language for his characters, known as the High Speech. Examples of this language include the phrases ''Thankee, Sai'' ("Thank you, Sir/Ma'am.") and ''Dan-Tete'' ("Little Savior"). In addition, King uses the term ''Ka'', which is the approximate equivalent of destiny, or fate, in the fictional language High Speech (and similarly, ''Ka-tet,'' a group of people bound together by fate/destiny). This term originated in Egyptian mythology and storytelling, and has figured in several other novels and screenplays since 1976. The term also appears in King's short story, "Low Men in Yellow Coats", in which Ted describes its meaning to Bobby.
Main series
Continuation
While the series was declared finished with the publication of the seventh volume in 2004,
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
described in an interview in March 2009 an idea for a new short story he'd recently had: "And then I thought, 'Well, why don't I find three more like this and do a book that would be almost like modern fairy tales?' Then this thing started to add on bits and pieces so I guess it will be a novel." According to King, the idea was a new ''Dark Tower'' novel.
King said, regarding ''The Dark Tower'', "It's not really done yet. Those seven books are really sections of one long über-novel." King confirmed this during his TimesTalk event at
The Times Center in New York City on November 10, 2009, and the next day King's official site posted that King would begin working on this novel in about eight months, with a tentative title being ''The Wind Through the Keyhole''. King noted that this novel would likely be set between the fourth and the fifth books of the series. The book, titled ''
The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole'', was announced on Stephen King's official site on March 10, 2011, and was published on April 24, 2012.
Illustrations
Each book in the series was originally published in
hardcover
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...
format with a number of full-color illustrations spread throughout. Each book contained works by a single illustrator only. Subsequent printings of each book in
trade paperback format usually preserve the illustrations in full, except for books I and IV. Pocket-sized
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
reprints contain only black-and-white chapter or section header illustrations.
The illustrators who worked on each book are:
Reception
Bill Sheehan of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' called the series "a humane, visionary epic and a true magnum opus" that stands as an "imposing example of pure storytelling," "filled with brilliantly rendered set pieces... cataclysmic encounters and moments of desolating tragedy." Erica Noonan of the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' said, "There's a fascinating world to be discovered in the series" but noted that its epic nature keeps it from being
user-friendly
Usability can be described as the capacity of a system to provide a condition for its users to perform the tasks safely, effectively, and efficiently while enjoying the experience. In software engineering, usability is the degree to which a soft ...
. Allen Johnston of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' was disappointed with how the series progressed; while he marveled at the "sheer absurdity of
he books'
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
existence" and complimented King's writing style, he said preparation would have improved the series, stating "King doesn't have the writerly finesse for these sorts of games, and the voices let him down." Michael Berry of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'', however, called the series' early installments "highfalutin hodgepodge" but the ending "a valediction" that "more than delivers on what has been promised." Joshua Rothman of ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' praised the series, feeling that "the novels were better and weirder than
e'dhoped." Because it features several of his classic tropes, Rothman claimed, "If you really like Stephen King, you owe it to yourself to give the series a shot."
Other media
Tie-in books
The series has prompted related non-fiction books by authors besides King.
Robin Furth
Robin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's '' The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance'', which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006. It is a compilation of her two previous encyclopedic ...
has published the two-volume ''Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance'', an encyclopedia-style companion to the series that she originally wrote for King's personal use.
Bev Vincent
Bev Vincent is an essayist and a literary critic, he also is the author of ''The Road to the Dark Tower'' and ''The Stephen King Illustrated Companion.''
Selected bibliography
*''The Road to the Dark Tower'' (2005, Cemetery Dance Publications) ...
has published ''The Road to The Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus'', a book containing back story, summary and analysis and ''The Dark Tower Companion'', which includes interviews and coverage of the Marvel graphic novels. Stephen King has endorsed these books.
''
Charlie the Choo-Choo'' is a "children's book" by Stephen King released in 2016, published under the pseudonym Beryl Evans. It is adapted from a section of King's previous novel ''The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands''. It was illustrated by Ned Dameron.
Comics
Several ''Dark Tower'' series arcs were published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
.
A
prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term " ...
, ''
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born'' is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by
Peter David
Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...
, and illustrated by
Jae Lee
Jae Lee (born 1972) is a Korean Americans, Korean American comics artist known for his interior illustration and cover work for various publishers, including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, and Dynamite Entertainment.
Career
Jae Lee's f ...
and
Richard Isanove
Richard Isanove (born 1968) is a French artist and painter working in the American comic book industry.
Early life
Richard Isanove was born in the south of France, studied film and animation at the Ecole nationale superieure des arts decoratifs ...
, and is set around the time of the flashbacks in ''The Gunslinger'' and ''Wizard and Glass''. The first issue of this first arc was released on February 7, 2007. A hardcover volume containing all seven issues was released on November 7, 2007.
The second arc in the series, ''
The Long Road Home'', began publication on March 5, 2008. A hardcover volume containing all five issues was released on October 15, 2008.
The third arc, ''
The Dark Tower: Treachery'', began publication on September 10, 2008. A hardcover volume containing all 6 issues was released on April 21, 2009.
Following the completion of the third arc a
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
issue titled ''
The Dark Tower: Sorcerer'' was released April 8, 2009. The story focuses on the history of the villainous wizard
Marten Broadcloak.
The fourth arc, ''
The Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead'', began publication on May 13, 2009. A hardcover volume containing all 6 issues, as well as the Sorcerer One-Shot was released on February 2, 2010.
The fifth arc, ''
The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill'', began publication on December 3, 2009. A hardcover volume containing all 5 issues was released on August 17, 2010.
Marvel Comics has also published three supplemental books to date that expand upon characters and locations first introduced in the novels. ''The Dark Tower: Gunslingers' Guidebook'' was released in 2007, ''The Dark Tower: End-World Almanac'' was released in 2008, and ''The Dark Tower: Guide to Gilead'' was released in 2009. All three books were written by
Anthony Flamini
Anthony Flamini (born October 3, 1978) is an American freelance comic book writer. He served as Head Writer and Coordinator for the "Civil War: Battle Damage Report" and "Civil War Files." He wrote three volumes of short stories and profiles as ...
, with Furth serving as creative consultant. ''End-World Almanac'' and ''Guide to Gilead'' feature illustrations by David Yardin.
A five-issue adaptation of King's novel ''
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger'', titled ''
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins'', began publication on May 19, 2010. The collected hardback edition was released on January 26, 2011.
An adaptation of King's novella "
The Little Sisters of Eluria
"The Little Sisters of Eluria" is a fantasy novella by American writer Stephen King. It was originally published in 1998 in the anthology ''Legends''. In 2002, it was included in King's collection ''Everything's Eventual''. In 2009, it was publi ...
", titled ''The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Little Sisters of Eluria'', began publication on December 8, 2010. The collected hardback edition was released on June 8, 2011.
A second adaptation of King's novel ''The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger'', titled ''The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Battle of Tull'', began publication on June 1, 2011. The collected hardback edition was released on January 25, 2012.
A third adaptation of King's novel ''The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger'', titled ''The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Way Station'', began publication on December 14, 2011. The collected hardback edition was released on June 27, 2012.
Games
December 7, 2009 saw the release of a
spin-off online
game
A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
titled ''Discordia'',
available to play free of charge on the official Stephen King website. The game is a continuation of the original ''Dark Tower'' story, following the war between the Tet Corporation and Sombra/NCP in New York, and it has been supervised by both Stephen King and
Robin Furth
Robin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's '' The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance'', which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006. It is a compilation of her two previous encyclopedic ...
. From the website: "Exploring the behind-the-scenes conflict between the two companies, ''Discordia'' introduces long-time ''Dark Tower'' fans to new characters and numerous mechanical/magical items developed by Mid-World's Old Ones. Over the course of our adventure we will visit many locations, both those familiar to ''Dark Tower'' fans and others which we only glimpsed in the ''Dark Tower'' novels. While we may not see Roland and his ka-tet in this adventure, the development team has remembered the faces of its fathers. We have done our best to honor the original ''Dark Tower'' series while simultaneously mapping new and exciting ''Dark Tower'' territory."
Film
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
and
Media Rights Capital
MRC II Distribution Company L.P., doing business as MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital), is an American film and television studio. Founded by Mordecai (Modi) Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, the company funds and produces film and television programming. ...
adapted the series for film. The film is directed by Nikolaj Arcel, and stars
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor. and
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
, cast respectively as Roland Deschain and Walter O'Dim. The film was released on August 4, 2017. Critics panned the film with it receiving a score of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film combines elements from several novels in ''The Dark Tower'' series, serving as a
canonical
The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...
sequel to the novel series, which concluded with the revelation that Roland's quest was a cyclical
time loop
The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. The term "time loop" is sometimes us ...
; the presence of the Horn of Eld, which Roland carries in the film, indicates that this is the next cycle. Stephen King has indicated that ''The Dark Tower'' film and television series will follow Roland's "last time round" to the titular Dark Tower.
In July 2016, director
Nikolaj Arcel
Nikolaj Arcel (born 25 August 1972) is a Danish filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for his 2012 film ''A Royal Affair'' which won two prizes at the Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at ...
confirmed that ''The Dark Tower'' film would be a sequel to the novels as well as a direct adaptation, with Roland in the next cycle of his journey to the Tower.
In an interview with
Collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
, Stephen King expressed hope for a sequel film in addition to the upcoming television series, suggesting that it should be
R-rated, with Roland wearing a hat, and that it would include the "lobstrosities" from ''
The Drawing of the Three
''The Drawing of the Three'' is a dark fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the second book in '' The Dark Tower'' series, published by Grant in 1987. The series was inspired by '' Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came'' by Robe ...
''. In an interview with
ComingSoon.net
Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male- ...
, Nikolaj Arcel confirmed that ''The Drawing of the Three'' would form the basis for the sequel, and that yet-to-be-cast actors who will play
Eddie
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
and
Susannah Dean
''The Dark Tower'' is a series of eight novels written by American author Stephen King, which incorporate multiple genres including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. Below are ''The Dark Tower'' characters that come into play as the ...
would appear alongside Elba, McConaughey, Taylor, and Haley reprising their roles as Roland, Walter, Jake and Sayre respectively.
Television
In February 2018,
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
bought the rights to ''The Dark Tower'' books for a series adaptation, though it was not made clear at first if anyone from the film would be involved. It was later confirmed that the series would serve as a reboot, with
Sam Strike
Samuel Harry Strike (born 18 January 1994) is an English actor.
Life and career
Strike was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. He starred in two revival series of CBBC's '' M.I. High'' as Dan Morgan from 2013–2014. In 2014, Strike guest starred ...
and
Jasper Pääkkönen
Joona Jasper Pääkkönen (; born 15 July 1980) is a Finnish film actor and entrepreneur.
Following a two-decade-plus career in Finnish movies, Pääkkönen's international breakthrough role came in 2015 in the historical drama television series ...
being cast as Roland Deschain and The Man in Black, respectively. In June 2019,
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955) is an American actor known for his roles as Henry in '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986), Chick Gandil in ''Eight Men Out'' (1988), Frank Baily in ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988), Terry Cruger in ''S ...
,
Jerome Flynn
Jerome Patrick Flynn (born 16 March 1963) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Paddy Garvey of the King's Fusiliers in the ITV series ''Soldier Soldier'', Bronn in the hit HBO series '' Game of Thrones'', and Benn ...
and Joana Ribeiro were also believed to be cast members. In January 2020, Amazon decided not to move forward with the pilot, but
production company
A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...
MRC
MRC may refer to
Government
* Medical Research Council (United Kingdom)
* Medical Reserve Corps, a US network of volunteer organizations
* Municipalité régionale de comté (regional county municipality), Quebec, Canada
* Military Revolutionar ...
is shopping the pilot scripts elsewhere. In December 2022, director
Mike Flanagan announced that he had acquired the rights to develop a television series based on the books and had plans for a multi season release.
Audiobooks
Currently there exist five audio versions of The Dark Tower series – in English, Polish, German, French and Russian. The audio book in English published by
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette.
History
Early history
The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...
features voices of
George Guidall
George Guidall (born June 7, 1938) is a prolific audiobook narrator and theatre actor. As of November 2014, he had recorded over 1,270 audiobooks, which was believed to be the record at the time.
Biography
Guidall is from New Jersey. His family n ...
and
Frank Muller
Frank Muller (May 5, 1951 – June 4, 2008) was a stage and television actor, but was most famous as an audiobook narrator.
Early life
Muller was born in The Netherlands, the eldest of five children. His family immigrated to the United St ...
and has neither music nor sound effects. The audio book in German published by
Deutschland Random House Audio introduces
Vittorio Alfieri
Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography.
Early life
Alfieri was b ...
and
David Nathan as the narrators. The French audiobooks are published by
Éditions Gallimard
Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles.
Founded by Ga ...
and narrated by
Jacques Frantz
Jacques Frantz (4 April 1947 – 17 March 2021) was a French actor. Nominated for the Molière Award, he was renowned for his theatre work, and his voice, which he lent to many actors, such as Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, John Goodman, and Nick N ...
.
In Russian, ''
The Gunslinger
''The Gunslinger'' is a dark-fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first volume in the '' Dark Tower'' series.
''The Gunslinger'' was first published in 1982 as a fix-up novel, joining five short stories that had been publ ...
'', as narrated by Igor Knyazev, does not have any music or sound effects
The first two novels in the series, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger and The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three, were produced on audio cassette by New Audio Library (NAL) in 1988 and 1989 respectively. The Waste Lands, The Dark Tower Part III, was produced on audio cassette by Penguin Highbridge Audio in 1991. Each of these early editions was narrated by the author. The Waste Lands includes musical accompaniment throughout.
All of these editions were subsequently re-recorded in 1997 with Frank Muller as the narrator for continuity. Muller narrates the fourth book in the series, The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. Stephen King selected Muller as his voice for all audio narrations at this time. Frank Muller suffered a catastrophic brain injury in a motorcycle accident in 2001. The narration task then fell to George Guidall, who recorded the final three books in the series in quick succession in 2003 and 2004. George Guidall was also called upon to re-record The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, the first book in the series, in 2003, as the author made significant changes to that story to better match what came later.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark Tower, The
Book series introduced in 1982
American fantasy novel series
American horror novels
Mythopoeia
Self-reflexive novels
High fantasy novels
Novels about parallel universes
Novels adapted into comics
Novels by Stephen King
American novels adapted into films
Metafictional works